08/31/2008

... life just happens. However, every once in awhile when you round a corner, when you least expect
it, you bump into something that causes you to pause. No where is that
more magical than in New York City.

Big bronze pennies leading to whimsical art, created by local sculpture Tom Otterness, was one of the many little surprises that my friend Kate introduced me to during our walk along Rockefeller Park (Battery Park City) this weekend. I found it interesting that the name of this wee park is The Real World but the children call it Penny Park. I couldn't help but think .. what's real and what is play and how as adults we loose our sense of wonder and miss the moments of delight.

It's only a description of what I see in New York: the constant clash between people walking on the same street, living in the same world. I see small vignettes of meaning, but the connection between the events is beyond my understanding. Tom Otterness

Later that night Otterness' words would ring true for me. In a NYC taxi my aunt lost her purse. Panic set in as she was told by the 311 operator that due to the holiday weekend no one would be able to help her for 7 long days. Her lost money and cell phone were not so much a concern as her identification. How much of a hassle would it entail to get through TSA security? Life can be so complex.

The cabbie had found her purse. Taken the initiative to call several people from her phone list who in turn called family who was with my aunt. Happily ever after occurred when this good samaritan took time out from his job to return her pocket book.

I see small vignettes of meaning, but the connection between the events is beyond my understanding.

What might this have to do with marketing, or branding you may ask? In my way of thinking it is a reminder that be it taxi rides or art it's the people who we touch .. who we connect with who matter. For me social media marketing is making that happen more so every day. Because business is personal.

08/22/2008

Pulse of the Industry: Blogger Relations Part IV

Social media is growing up .. as an industry and as a marketing strategy. From blogs to widgets to social networks and micro blogging marketers are exploring how to tap into the communication tools that were not developed for business tactics. But were created for communication between and among people. Just people.

Along the way, we (I'm in this deal with you!) marketers realized that the people who were using these, let's call them "tools" - you know what they are .. Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, and the zillions of other social networks that are launching daily .. might be an interesting way to reach people who might care about our brands. So we began to read, build relationships and reach out to bloggers who were interested in the topics that we and our clients were .. like cars, parenting, photography, etc. What happened was a new marketing tactic emerged: Blogger Relations.

I was curious to know:

* Who was doing it right and who was doing it wrong

* What did agencies want from bloggers and what did bloggers want from agencies

* and most of all how could we work together for the benefit of the communities

I conducted an online survey among bloggers, agency and brand people. 99 people participated. Since the research is not statistically valid let's call it an industry pulse check from the people who are involved in the space. Their insights are thoughtful and the learnings they shared significant.

Question: If you are working with an agency/social media company ... what do you want to tell Bloggers when it comes to blogger relations? 29 responses.

Important to people who worked on the client-side were building relationships, values, respect and a willingness to learn what bloggers wanted. We are no longer in the wild wild west of social media and "etiquette" and we should be playing nicely together. One respondent even took bloggers to task for what she considered inappropriate behavior.

The big take-aways for me were:

Relationships are based on communication. Educate us about what you want and need.

Have patience.

Respect

Values are important

Etiquette Is Important - Please Play Nicely

For C.B. Whittemore if you are a consistent participant in the conversation blogger relations happens naturally. "I''m connecting as a blogger. Plus, not that many in the space so formal blogger relations haven't been necessary."

Relationships are based on communication. Tell us what you want and need. More than a ‘campaign.’ Educate. Patience

Tim Jackson feels that the phrase developing a relationship is over used but it "really applies." People like to do business with people they like and trust. As Tim says, "I get
many bloggers spreading my message FOR me because they "like me" and
don't see me as cramming things into their faces. It's built on sharing
and conversation for me."

Blogger relations is not a campaign in of itself. It's a process, and
needs to be thought of in broad strokes and in the long term. - Michael
E. Rubin

Just like with any relationship, tell those trying to engage you what you want -- what you want to know about and what you don't, how you want to be approached and what annoys you, what you consider valuable to your work, etc. It'll help lower the number of totally off-base pitches and help everyone get what they want. - Anonymous

From the client side, I think we mean well. Sometimes the company is "green" and needs to be educated. Sometimes the company won't learn. The question is how do you differentiate the two? – Anonymous

There needs to be two way education -- and we need to learn to speak each others' language. – Anonymous

Be patient, companies are only now understanding how to handle bloggers. - Cece Salomon-Lee

I want them to know that we respect them, we read them and we want to be a part of the conversation around our Brand. The good and the bad. If we do something bad, tell us. If you do something bad, trust me I will let you know! - David J. Neff

Start a conversation and begin a relationship before trying to sell me. Just like you (hopefully) would in person. – Anonymous

We're listening, and want to talk with them to improve what we offer. – AnonymousSimply, I believe what I am working is of value to your (the blogger's)
audience which is why I'm contacting you. If you agree that it is cool,
please spread the gospel. I will reach out to you only if I feel what I
want to communicate adds value to your audience. We believe in a mutual
exchange/benefit! Prashant Kew

I want to tell them about my company, and myself as its founder. For me, they are one and the same. – Anonymous

Willing to work with bloggers to provide their side of a story.

Respect

Neville Hobson's simple promise should underscore any out reach, "I promise not to spam you and will treat you with respect." Yvonne DiVita reminds us that respect is what opens doors to
communication. "That they will always be respected, that their open,
honest comments are very valuable, and that there is an open door to
communication for and with them."

Another respondent felt strongly that respect is a critical factor to building a relationship and insults do not foster friendships.

Relationships are built on mutual respect. As a representative of my company, I'm committed to showing respect to any blogger with whom I wish to communicate. The reverse is true, too -- for a blogger to insult (not merely criticize) my company and then expect for my company to engage in a dialog with him or her is unreasonable. - Anonymous

Following up on the noise of SEO releases (just for the sake of
search engine placement), follow the rules. Don't be stupid! Respect
others as you would like to be respected. Scattershot releases and
contacts are causing more harm than good. – Robert French

Values

As with agencies values such as honesty and transparency were important to several "brand" respondents. Also appreciated was an effort to represent companies/brands fairly.

Be honest. - Kate Spencer

Please don't masquerade as someone other than who you really are. – Anonymous

If you consider yourselves journalists, strive for accuracy and perspective. We're anxious to work with you. If you have a question, please come directly to us. We're more than happy to give you accurate information. – Anonymous

Just tell the truth, spark controversy, add value to the
conversation, avoid trolls and spammers, and be fair to all. Before
complaining about a product or company, do all you can to resolve an
issue directly with the company. If the company ignores you, or is
obviously unethical or uncooperative, then you can rant against them if
you feel others need to be warned. - Steven E. Streight

Etiquette - Play Nicely Please

Susan Cartier
Liebel reminded us that we are no longer in the wild wild west of social media. "There is an etiquette. Failure to follow the etiquette can quickly
tarnish your name and your ability to effectively use blogging as a way
to promote yourself, your services, your brand."

Even though blogging is much more casual than writing for more mainstream forms of media, they should act professionally. – Carolyn Wilman

Get both sides of the story - be objective. Tell the story and stop trying to be a tabloid. – Anonymous

Next up last of the series and the bloggers will have the last word.

Thanks to the 99 people who kindly responded. The following agreed to be quoted and publicly acknowledged.

08/19/2008

In his role as Director of Web, Film and Interactive Strategies for the American Cancer Society's High Plains Division David J. Neff has worked with ACS in some exciting social media intitiaves. One of the most successful has been Sharinghope.tv the non profit world's first total user generated content site.

The other side of David J. Neff is .. he is an author, speaker and social media maven. He's also a guy with a big heart. Skipping along Twitter a couple of weeks ago I caught tweets about a Tweet-up. Following the teeny bread crumb trail I learned that David was part of the Tweet-up team. Sounded like a Diva Interview to me and David agreed.

Toby/Diva Marketing: So David, what is a Tweet-up?

David J. Neff: A Tweet-up is the same thing as what used to be called a meet-up. From the meet-up.com days. It’s a bunch of people who know each other online meeting in real-life. Usually to enjoy some Tex-Mex and Adult Beverages if it’s an Austin tweet-up ; -)

Toby/Diva Marketing: What was the ACS Tweet-up about? How many people signed up?

David J. Neff: Well Toby we didn’t have a ACS Tweet Up. We had a Blood Drive Tweetup to benefit the Central Texas Blood and Tissue Center. The American Cancer Society was not involved at all. We had 45 to 50 people sign up and we had 45 people show up.

Toby/Diva Marketing: Let’s put a little traditional perspective around that number. In a typical Blood Drive out reach what would be your average response?

David J. Neff: We doubled their traffic for that day!

Toby/Diva Marketing: Did you have any expectations? What did you “hope” would happen?

David J. Neff: I hope I would get to meet a lot of the Central Texas/Austin commuity and talk to them about giving blood and even our newest Web Community www.sharinghope.tv. Luckily we did a lot more than that!

Toby/Diva Marketing: As with most social media initiatives the “oomph!” comes from relations build with a community .. with Twitter it's the “Followers.” This is sort of a chicken and egg question. Do you first have to build a base of Followers before you can have a successful Tweet-up? How do you do that?

David J. Neff: Good question. I don’t have a third of the followers you do Toby (add me at @daveiam) so that was not an option for us. But what did happen was people spread the word on twitter and email! Michelle Greer my awesome co-partner on this did the same thing and soon we had the whole Austin Twitter Community interested in the Blood Drive. It went viral since it was such a good cause.

Toby/Diva Marketing: Twitter has a unique challenge. As the tweets (or posts) continue to increase exponentially based on the number of people you follow you can easily miss a tweet. How did you compensate for that?

David J. Neff: Michelle Greer and I talked the heck out of it. We also partnered with two local groups to get the message out. The 501 Tech Club of Austin and the Austin Social Media Club. They were a big help!

Toby/Diva Marketing: From a marketing view .. congrats! on integrating other social tactics such as the YouTube video and @Twitter messages .. which is how I found out. Please talk a little about that part of your strategy.

David J. Neff: That was just the summary.

If you are going to have an event around your non-profit be sure to Blog about it, Video tape people and take photos. It’s all you can do to spread the word!

Toby/Diva Marketing: What are a few of the Lessons Learned? Would you do it again?

David J. Neff: Whew! We learned a lot. The most important thing is that people really do care nowdays. You just have to break through the clutter and get them to notice your event. In this case the community on twitter really helped us do that! We do plan to do it again very soon for another non-profit here in town. Toby/Diva Marketing: What would you tell non profits and profits who are exploring micro blogging/Twitter as part of their communication out reach?

David J. Neff:

Make it happen. You need to experiment. Watch this video and follow some of my tips.

Follow David on Twitter! FI Space - blog about innovation for non profits.

08/15/2008

Pulse of the Industry: Blogger Relations Part III

In the spring of 2004, when Diva Marketing launched, social media marketing was not even a buzz word. In the business world of new media blogs were the big deal along with a vague notion of RSS. Podcasts and videos were beginning to find their place as more than just a cool new toy. Flash four years into the Future Is Now and writing a few blogs posts, recording a podcast, taping a video or joining a social network are only a few of the tactics that marketers have to choose from in their social media marketing tool box.

A few surprises have come along with the growth of social media. One big surprise is the extent of influence that people providing the content for blogs, podcasts, vlogs and social networking communities enjoy within their communities. Influenced was/is based on relationships.

Marketers are tapping into that concept and what is emerging is a new strategy that we are calling - Blogger Relations or BR. The halo effect from a post or a video about a brand may be more beneficial to changing perception and encouraging purchasing than a traditional ad or PR campaign.

I was curious to know:

Who was doing it right and who was doing it wrong

What did agencies want from bloggers and what did bloggers want from agencies

and most of all how could we work together for the benefit of the communities

99 people participated in an online survey. Since the research is not statistically valid let's call it an industry pulse check from the people who are involved in the space. Their insights are thoughtful and the learnings they shared significant.

With almost all, 90%, respondents anticipating that they will be involved in a blogger relations strategy within the next 12-months, it seems as though BR is positioned to become an accepted marketing tactic.

Total response: 100% - 99 out of 99Yes - 90%No - 10%

Question: If you are working with an agency/social media company ...
what do you want to tell Bloggers when it comes to blogger relations?

There has been much written from the view point of bloggers about how they would like to be treated. However, I wondered what would agencies and consultants say to bloggers about their side of blogger relations.

37 responded43 self selected they worked for an agency/social media consultant and were bloggers. I don't know the total non bloggers who worked for an agency/social media consultancy.

Responses ranged from talk about values to reminders that we are still early in the game and to be patient to ideas how to work together. According to Drew McLellan, " I think everyone has to find a way to the middle. I don't think posting black lists is right. Nor do I think badgering bloggers is right."

The big take-aways for me were:

Concern about values

Post blogger relations policies

Give feedback

Reminder that we are early in the game and are learning together

Agencies should be part of the conversation

Respect

Values

It was important for that bloggers are real, transparent and authentic. Marc Meyer put it this way, "Be genuine. Think openly. write down any and all ideas. Keep an open mind and be respectful of other people's thoughts, ideas and opinions."

Be real! Even if you aren't (a real person). Genuine emotion and a
willingness to share and address all sides of issues will win you
acceptance. Also, don't use SEO releases. It just adds noise and
devalues the worth of 'real' releases. - Robert French

Listen first, build on what's there. Do not try to reinvent the wheel. - Katie Paine

Never become self-absorbed. It shows and your page views will immediately plummet. - Jane Genova

Be frequent. Be relative. Be real. - Kim Haynes

What goes around comes around. But always be authentic or you will lose your audience. - Alan Wolk

Be transparent. – Kate Spencer

Be transparent. A good company does not want fake hype as it will be
exposed in time and will not have lasting value to either party. * Be
fair. It's less important what your opinion is, more important that you
evaluate things from your perspective, documented when possible, and
handled maturely. * Ask yourself frequently - what's your point? Know
that, communicate that, adhere to that. Consistency gives cred; the
details are secondary. - Roxanne Darling

Feedback

Most agree that this is a path we are forging .. together. The rules are being defined with each new out reach and what worked today for one blogger may not work tomorrow for another. But what happens when someone makes a mistake or doesn't know the rules?

Respondents asked for feedback and help understanding what individual bloggers want. Dave Taylor put it, " Cut the "new pr people some slack for mistakes, but flakes flacks need to pay attention and respect bloggers too, not just do the same "paid by the # of releases sent out" goofiness."

Be patient - this is an emerging area and we're all trying to figure it out. Don't be so quick to criticize; offer suggestions rather than excoriating us. Anonymous

I have worked with an agency before as the emerging media guy who connects with bloggers. I would want to tell them to give PR people a break and realize that they are NOT EVIL. Instead of reacting like a pissy little child, how about reacting like an adult and helping to educate him/her about how they can do their job better? - Michael E. Rubin

To provide constructive criticism - those of us who are "doing it right" so to speak are always looking to do better, and present opportunities that are beneficial to both the client we represent as well as the blogger - often we are willing to be flexible to work with the blogger to make that happen. I would love to hear more candid feedback from the bloggers I work with regarding how they'd like to be pitched, the kinds of opportunities they'd like, and what works for them - I'd love to accommodate as best I can, and offer opportunities that are relevant to them. – Anonymous

We want your insights - not coverage on your blog. Give us your
feedback. We don't want to influence your feedback - be true to
yourself. We don't want to lure you with gifts - try the product, and
return if you think of it as a bribe. - Rajesh

Work with us - if we approach you in an offensive/unnecessary way please tell us. it's a new media and the rules haven't been set (yet) – Anonymous

What Do Bloggers Want?

Kami Huyse suggested that, "Bloggers need to be clear about their preferences for companies that want to share information." A solution would be to pick up on Roxane Darling suggestion of posting a Blogger Relations Policy page or as Rohit called it a pitch page.

The more info you can provide upfront somewhere on your blog about how you prefer to be contacted and what topics you are interested in hearing about, the more likely you will get relevant pitches. - Nedra Weinreich

Make it easy for us to learn about you and your likes and dislikes and we can tailor our "relations" to you much better. Often the information that could give us these clues is hidden and we have to struggle to find it. If your pet peeve is getting press releases about product launches, let us know in a prominent way linked from your homepage (such as a "how to pitch me" page off your about page) and the good agencies will respect that. When that fact is hidden in a blog post you made 3 years ago, it's almost impossible for your regular readers to find it, much less any agency person just getting familiar with your blog. – Rohit

I want them to tell me what is ok and what is cheap promotion. I want them, since it is their media outlet, to share with me what is appropriate and what is cheapening their space. What incentives are good and what constitutes selling out. – Anonymous

Interacting With Agencies

Neville Hobson's response hit's the high notes - "I promise not to spam you and will treat you with respect."

I know who you are because I read you. I know what you are looking for because I understand. Sometimes, I think my agency has some content you might like to see. – Shel Israel

Work with us - if we approach you in an offensive/unnecessary way please tell us. it's a new media and the rules haven't been set (yet) – Anonymous

I think the bloggers need to be easy to access like "standard" media. I wish there was a way to send out a media release enmasse to bloggers. – Carolyn Wilman

Much as a good relationship between a reporter and PR can benefit both parties, so can a good relationship with a blogger. A relationship with us could get you great content. Example, we recently got an interview with someone a blogger was over the moon to speak to, and she would not have gotten that interview without us. - Sally Falkow

It's all about making sure the message or the connection adds value for all parties. - Sherry Heyl

There is a fine line when it comes to pitching a product versus engaging a blogger to discuss the product/service/client with you and their audience. Realizing that there are agencies out there that read your blog for more than just the opportunity to have you highlight a product, that is where the mutual respect comes in. We regularly read your blog because your industry is our client's industry.

Your interests and passions are our client's interests and passions (and sometimes our own, too!). We look for client opportunities, sure. That is our job. But ultimately, we are mostly there to further the conversation amongst you, our client, and all the other interested parties out there. Sharing information and sharing that passion - that is where blogger relations turn into an actual relationship between a blogger, an agency and their client. - Anonymous

It is important to develop highly customized and personalized programs
for bloggers and not just a cut and paste program being executed by
interns. This could be your most important PR strategy. - Dave Williams

A few comments reinforced that blogger relations is a different game .. one where more than your client's reputation can be involved. The agency has skin in the game too.

We know that our reputation is always on the line, and that keeps us especially rigorous in customized outreach, relationship-building, and being 100% transparent. It's a tremendous amount of risk we take in engaging with bloggers. If a PR person writes a bad pitch to the journalist, the worst that'll happen is the journalist ignores it. With bloggers, the upside's great but the risk is much higher. David Berkowitz

We understand that your blog is your territory and we very much appreciate it when you're willing to talk about our clients there. – Anonymous

Be Part of The Conversation

A few people felt that actively participating in the conversation was important too.

Join the conversation first. - Jay Berkowitz

As an agency it is critical that I blog too - so I have my own credibility and my own space to share "me" and not just my product/brand or service, rather than pushing out tactical messages in-the-cold. This way, when I do have messages to send out, they follow a more natural flow that bloggers are comfortable with. – Dina Mehta

Taking The Hell Out of Healhcare is Nick's innovative approach to healthcare that treats the patient as a "person" while looking at a healthcare system that Nick calls broken. The book is a guide " ... on how to get the same treatment as the CEO's family in any hospital, a book on patient advocacy."

08/11/2008

I've been skipping about Twitter for awhile now and meeting so many interesting people from small business owners to a CEO of a billion dollar corporation to renewing friendships and building stronger relationships. Just like other social media worlds there are micro communities with in Twitter that range from foodies to pet lovers to political junkies and on and on and on.

A couple of weeks ago I noticed a new follower - Guy Tessler. As I always do when someone new follows me, I clicked on his tweet profile and was surprised to find out that Guy was from the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce, Southeast Region. I was curious to find out why the American-Israel Chamber was twittering. The whale was no where to be seen .. so I dropped Guy a direct message (DM) tweet - in less than 140 characters - and asked if he would be up for a Diva interview. He kindly agreed.

About the American-Israel ChamberThe American-Israel Chamber of Commerce, Southeast Region was established in 1992 as a private, not-for profit (and non-governmental) business organization to boost the Israeli and Southeastern economies by helping their companies develop business relationships with each other and explore new market opportunities.

Guy Tessler: I am twittering as a tool to reach my goals and perform my objectives at AICC. I think this goes for many individuals in similar type organization. I would be very suspicious of interacting with a logo, however a human face is much easier to relate to.

I think that the special effectiveness of this medium stems from it being first and foremost identified with the individual using it who is putting his “face” and reputation on the line behind his talk.

We have general goals within our software committee program of work to lead the organization in adopting new technologies so I guess it does give some legitimacy to use it on behalf of the organization. I see this as an experimental stage where I am trying to use Twitter as well as other tools such as Linkedin groups and Facebook in a variety of ways to see what interactions work.

Toby/Diva Marketing: Who are the people you hope to reach? Have you had any response from them?

Guy Tessler:

1) People who are relevant to our general mission e.g. those at technology companies, economic development organizations, VCs or professional firms that may have an interest in Israel and meeting Israeli companies to form some sort of business relationship and be part of our programs.

2) People who are subject matter experts that can be consulted with to understand things that I currently don’t

3) Networkers, bloggers and other new media types that can help tell the Israel technology story and help us do what we do.

4) Make myself an available resource who may help others to pursue their business and networking goals.

Toby/Diva Marketing: About how much time are you spending reading and writing tweets?

Guy Tessler: Most of the time when driving to and from work ;). I usually have the iPhone on twitter as I do other things and periodically glance at what is happening there.

I read a lot more than I write and when I write, I usually respond. I also do more “d” messages to interesting people as I identify them in the mix. I follow links to interesting posts and would sometimes post them on my Facebook or Linkedin pages or forward them to those who may be interested in this information.

Toby/Diva Marketing: Are you promoting Twitter and if so how?

Guy Tessler: I am promoting social networking in general. This is a very opportune time for us to be in this space since in September Israeli companies will be coming to Atlanta to showcase tools and technologies at the “Empowering the Connected Enterprise” business exchange hosted by IBM. Selectively, I add my twitter ID to my email signature.

Toby/Diva Marketing: How have you gone about identifying “followers?”

Guy Tessler: I look at who others are following and guess who may be an interesting person to follow.

Toby/Diva Marketing: Are any other American-Israel Chamber of Commerces twittering?

Guy Tessler: Haven’t bumped into them yet but again it is the individuals not the chambers that are probably out there. Same thing probably applies to other types of trade organizations, non-profits, industry groups, and chambers.

Those I have seen there from economic development organizations tell me they are in a similar situation doing this as part of their way to perform their jobs and not because of some “corporate policy”.

Toby/Diva Marketing: Why do you think Twitter works on a local level?

Guy Tessler:

I think twitter (or any successors to come) is a tool that eventually will create a new kind of face to face business and social interaction.

Participants in a “first date” or “first business meeting” have much more interaction and exposure to each other under their belt prior to the face to face meeting saving a lot of chit-chat and embarrassing silences and making it a shorter way to the desired end result.

If you see it that way than the people you would most want to communicate with are locals and those who you have a chance in meeting through their or your travels. The concepts of” twit-ups” and” real time social tagging” can also happen only on a local level.

Toby/Diva Marketing: One more .. Guy Tessler’s view about Twitter.

Guy Tessler: I am not in love with any tool. I am fascinated by the social evolution of human interaction that is facilitated by the technology available with Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, text and video blogging, UGC and iPhone being the face of this phenomenon. Q: and is this a good or bad thing? A: the answer is yes

AICC has over 500 members and is headquartered in Atlanta serving
companies from Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Mississippi, and Israel. AICC has earned the reputation as
one of the most successful and effective bi-national business
organizations in the United States.

The strength of AICC is the
expertise and networking connections of our large and active
membership. AICC conducts educational programs, networking events, and
business exchanges designed to stimulate interest in American companies
to do business with Israel, offer helpful "how to" information, and
provide opportunities for business to be explored between American and
Israeli companies.

08/06/2008

Pulse of the Industry: Blogger Relations Part II

Social media a credible industry? Yes? No? I vote yes and not just because I've had a sip or two of the koolaid. Recently it was (re) validated with the launch of IBNMA - International Bloggers and New Media Association (disclosure: I am a board member) and consolidation of Social Media Group purchasing Livingston Communications.

However, with growth comes challenges and questions. A few of mine were to learn more about how bloggers, agencies and brands perceived a new strategy we are calling - Blogger Relations. I wanted to know:

Who was doing it right and who was doing it wrong

What did agencies want from bloggers and what did bloggers want from agencies

and most of all how could we work together for the benefit of the communities

So I asked a few folks for their views. 99 people participated in an online survey. This is an industry .. let's call it .. pulse check .. NOT a statistically valid survey.
However, the insights are note worthy and valuable. For the backstory see Part I Blogger or Journalist. My thank you and to the people who participated, and our community, is to post the findings. Since the posts tend to run long I'll be posting the analysis over the next couple of weeks. Today we'll dive into what makes a successful blogger relations strategy.

I was also curious to know, generally, if people were involved with blogger relations. Question: Have you conducted/been ask to participate in a blogger relations strategy?

It seems that marketers, on the consulting and brand side have been busy out reaching to bloggers.

Total response: 99 out of 99 - 100% response rate

Yes: 63%No: 37%

My off the record thoughts are this will continue to escalate as
marketers understand that bloggers bring not only reach into a niche
community but a halo influence of credibility.

From John Cass a comment which helps to clarify what is meant by Blogger Relations. "However, we have to define blogger relations. To me it has two meanings 1) the pitching part in media relations, but to bloggers, 2) having a dialogue with a blogger, without the intent of pitching something, but to share ideas, and discussion." Read more from Jon.

Question: Other than meeting goals and objectives .. how do you define a successful blogger relations strategy? Who is doing it right? Who is doing it wrong?

Total responses: 87 out of 99 responses - 88% response rate

There were three big take aways for me from the responses to this question:

It's Not About You

Relationships Matter

Honesty Is Critical

However, Francois Gossieaux reminds us that blogger relations is a component of a what should be a larger strategy of the benefits derived from social media marketing. "Blogger relations sounds so PR-ish...I think that if companies are
considering just blogger relations that they will get short changed on
what the social media-induced changes can deliver to their overall
business and marketing."

In addition, for one respondent participating in a blogger relations program where the blogger perceives that is is all about helping "someone else make money" will never fly.

I don't understand why anyone thinks I would use my valuable real
estate for free advertising someone else makes money on. I get two or
three dozen contacts a week of this sort (including once - honest -
adult bibs) and they all waste my time. Until there got to be so many,
I answered politely explaining my position. Now I just delete them. Let
them buy ads as in any other kind of publication. - Anonymous

It's Not About You

Rohit's simple but elegant statement, "One where everyone benefits" indicates the sentiment of many respondents. A successful blogger relations strategy is a win for the blogger, the brand and the community. Rajesh Lalwani reminds us that it is also an opportunity to co-create. Developing the conversation was important to others.

Positive reaction from bloggers, providing something of value to THEM, not just yourself, communicating as a human, not just like a company, understanding both the blogger and his/her/their audience. – Anonymous

Did you strike a 'relationship'? Did you gain insights from the blogger and her community? Did you co-create? If you did, or will, to me is a successful blogger relations strategy. – Rajesh Lawlani

A great blogger relations strategy is about connecting entities together -- people, companies, and organizations. It's about starting conversations and dialogue in a very real sense. - Michael Rubin

There is a genuine mutual interest created between blogger and subject trying to maintain blogger relations. - Prashant Kew

I'd say that success is collaborating for the greater good and ultimately to help get the truth out to the end consumer. - CB Whittemore

I have been approached by a few companies in the not for profit field to write about their programs. The content fits well into the scope of my blog. When they provide me with an outline of their service it and how it fits well into my blog I like it even more. - Randal Moss

For a corporation or business, effective blogger relations strategy involved educating a reader, NOT promoting products or brands.- Michelle Miller

Blogger relations strategy is a success when bloggers are talking about
a company without necessarily realizing that there IS a strategy.
Precious few companies are doing it right as of yet, in my opinion. -
Dave Taylor

A successful strategy is one isn't a "strategy," but a way of being and respectfully interacting with others. Would you pass the small town test? Are you contributing to the town structure or using the town structure for your own gain and not giving back your fair share? Are you putting as much energy into the blogging relationship as you are expecting them to put into you? - Mary Hunt

Blogger relations to me encompasses good dealings with other
bloggers, the client you are serving as consultant or official blogger,
and with readers who interact with your blog via comments, links,
quotes, email, and real life meeetings. - Stephen Straight

Relationships Matter

From the comments it was evident that building relations was considered the cornerstone of this type of communication out reach. How do you create a relationship? For Dina Mehta "Doing it right is engaging in meaningful conversations in a transparent fashion with an involved target audience."

Building relationships and really telling you what consumers are thinking/doing. It's viral and the absolute best WOM marketing out there. - Kate Spencer

A successful blogger relations strategy does just that - builds relationships. It reaches out over time and adds value to the blogs that it seeks to partner with, in addition to understanding their readers. It gets the conversation going around the product or service in question, and success occurs when the discussion builds beyond what was expected. - Becky Carroll

The relationship comes first. As Jason Falls says, "you have to live
it." The folks who are doing it right are almost invisible as blogger
relations. They talk about the same things and show concern for the
same things we do. - Liz Strauss

The idea of a blogger relations strategy begins with the words relations - it is all about building a mutually rewarding and inspirational relationship between the blogger and the agency/client, and sharing that passion and insight with the readers. Those who attempt to skip this step, or pretend to be involved when they are really not, are doing it all wrong. - Anonymous

Developing a relationship with blogger over time & participating in comments/discussions to the point where blogger would consider me/client a go-to source on my topic of expertise. - Anonymous

Those who do it right realize they are engaging in relationship management, those that do it wrong are just looking for the mention/hit - Kami Huyse

Honesty & Trust Are Critical

Is it really a surprise that in the social media world where virtual relationships are formed without the benefit of a physical handshake or eye contact that honest, trust and let's add in authenticity would be a given in working with bloggers?

Communication and honesty is key. Providing and receiving honest feedback regarding what works and what doesn't helps. I think like any other relationship, opportunities need to be mutually beneficial to both parties. - Anonymous

Respondents offered several different ideas of what "success" meant to them. A few people indicated success was a change in perception while others felt it was the extent of that bloggers engaged with your product/service/brand to several it came back to establishing trust on both sides of the equation.

As far as defining a successful blogger relations strategy, it depends
on the scope of the program. The best strategy is a long-term plan for
building relationships with key bloggers, but it is possible to start
small and identify the right bloggers to connect with for a certain
campaign. - David Berkowitz

How your (agency, marketer, consultant) reputation emerges at the conclusion of the process. - Anonymous

Changing perceptions of the public. - Anonymous

A successful strategy is when a) the bloggers you want to help move
your story know you and trust you as a reliable source of trustworthy
and interesting information and b) the bloggers know you will give them
the information in easily bloggable form (elements at least of the
Social Media Release) - Des Walsh

Creating buzz for a project/product and changing consumer
perception, which is hard to measure - so many things are at play,
including the product or service itself- is it buzzworthy? - Alan Wolk

Measuring Success

For most of the respondents a successful blogger relations strategy has many moving parts that supportsuccess. A few people commented on how to measure success.

Success is measured in many different ways depending on the campaign. Is it a product launch? You probably want as many review posts as you can get, and secondly, comments/trackbacks on those posts. Depending on the item and the collateral you make available, this might also include UGC videos with your products, that are then distributed and shared. Is it an ongoing branding campaign? Then this is harder to measure, as in traditional campaigns. Is it part of an overall marketing strategy? Then posts, views, comments, and trackbacks become relevant metrics. – Roxanne Dahling

The success isn't necessarily numbers, or big numbers. If you're key influencers are 5 people ... and you reach them, well - "Victory is mine!" Look at the small nonprofits that are engaging just their key/core stakeholders. Many are doing it. They just don't get the big time buzz from the high profile bloggers. Why? Because they are not corporate and don't present potential clients (or huge linkbacks) for the bloggers. Crass, you say? No. Reality. - Robert French

2x the 'blog mentions' than blogs pitched

A good blogger relations strategy can be wrapped around a
few benchmarks that can define success. one being branding, 2 being
exposure, 3-product release, 4-customer relations 5-corporate
communications. Rather than give you specific examples I would implore
people to read Naked Conversations by Scoble and Israel - Marc Meyer.

Doing It Right

The following is a list of companies and consultants that some respondents felt were doing it right. The numbers represent the times mentioned by different people.

"I think @ComcastCares is doing it right on Twitter - By participating
in the conversation and being responsive. I know of 3 people who have
had Comcast problems - went the traditional route to get help and were
completely frustrated and writing about that then they used twitter to
get to ComcastCares and the problems were solved - and they told
everyone about the great service on large blog networks (one with 95000
members) - the viral marketing and PR was "priceless".

Doing It Wrong

Walmart - 2

Most PR agencies

Anita Campbell brings another perspective that reinforces social media marketing
is a young industry and we have much to learn from each other.

"As for anyone doing it "wrong," I simply prefer to think of it as them
not quite being where they need to be yet -- not that they are wrong.
All this openness makes us pass judgment too harshly and too quickly I
think. Let's give companies and people time to learn and grow in their
blogging.

Other respondents provided specifics of how people were off track.

Doing it wrong: 1. mass mailings of generic promotions and press releases 2. false statements such as "I've been reading your blog and - followed by boilerplate 3. promoting products and services clearly unrelated to the blog's topic, intent or audience 4. continuing to email after having been told the blogger is not interested. - Anonymous

Doing it wrong? Most companies who look at social media as another channel. - Anonymous

"Unsuccessful blogger relations all have one thing in common, which is
that they are one sided and offer little value to the bloggers and
therefore come off as nothing more than spam. - Anonymous

How To Do It Right

Several people included specific ideas on what it takes to implement a successful blogger relations out reach.

Successful blogger relations campaign is only going to bloggers who
might actually have a reason to be interested in what you're selling,
approaching them as if they were human beings, knowing what they write
about, and giving them the story before you give it to everyone and her
dog. - B.L. Ochman

The ones who do it right don't blanket e-mail, do know their audience in advance. They create relationships and value before they ask for value. (Sounds like social media mores, eh?) – Drew McLellan

One in which there is a product/service related rationale for soliciting the bloggers opinion (i.e. the product is for babies and mothers are askd to try the product) and the value of the product is not perceived to be "payment" for a blog post/recommendation (e.g. Nikon, Microsoft Vista)....and there is full disclosure of the relationonship. Another "right" would be if I have written something negative about a product or service, an acknowledgment of some sort from the company that addresses the issue should also be part of a "successful blogger relations strategy"; similarly a successful blogger relations strategy should include contacting bloggers writing negative or positive posts about competitive products or services ... a reach out to "try ours". – Marianne Richmond

Develop highly customized and personalized programs for the client to reach out to the bloggers. These programs should add value for the blogger. - Dave Williams, Co-Founder, 360i

(With caveats of my answer to #2 above) 1) has the person/org looked at the diverse strategic application of blogs as a communication medium. Have they then been strategic about their selection/use? 2) are they ready to use this particular medium, understanding it is not simply a "broadcast as usual" medium? 3) are they getting and productively using the feedback and connections made through blogging? 4) Is blogging done by more than one person (i.e. moved beyond centralized, controlled information dissemination)? - Nancy White

Successful strategy includes finding the bloggers that reach the audience you want, making sure that your product/service is something that fits within what the bloggers write about, reaching out in a respectful and compelling way to offer something of value (info/news/an experience), and being available for follow-up dialogue with the bloggers. - Nedra Weinreich

Success means being accepted by bloggers (i.e., conversing and
interacting), without you sticking out like a sore thumb or it seeming
forced. - Anita Campbell

It's also to help create a community that feels comfortable having useful discussions about a product or service. - Yvonne DiVita

A successful strategy is similar to any journalist outreach, read our stuff first, don't spam us with the same bcc email you send to 50 people. Be a part of my small online community first, then craft a custom message. - Jay Berkowitz

Folks who do it right don't try to control the outcome of what bloggers cover, but do offer them full and equal access to their business/event/whatever. - Ann Handley

Personal mailings indicating the topic and reach of the
blog are understood and suggesting there might be a fit, with
appropriate facts - Anonymous

B/c of the topics in my blog, I'm in the pool of bloggers that the
Pentagon invites onto conference calls with various military experts;
they are doing a good job of connecting bloggers with experts or actors
who have specific knowledge of topical newsworthy issues. - Winds of
Change

A successful blogger relations strategy discusses thought provoking issues which leads to meaningful comments and gets readers to become and stay engaged in the blog. - Merrill Dubrow

Next Up: Part III Agencies tell bloggers their side and what they want in the relationship.

Thanks to the 99 people who kindly responded. The following agreed to be quoted and publicly acknowledged.

08/04/2008

Last weekend I had the opportunity to talk about two of my passions .. social media marketing and Max! I was invited to speak to a group of small business owners attending the Luxury Pet Pavilion conference in Atlanta.

My Challenge: I knew that most of the people attending my session would walk in the door knowing about social networks like MySpace and Facebook. However, based on conversations with the conference manager, I knew that few people would have connected the virtual dots .. how to use social media as a credible business strategy.

My Goal: To help bring home the point that turning Flickr, YouTube, social networking communities, blogs, widgets and other fun online toys into online tools could help build their businesses through the most powerful strategy .. relationships. I wanted the people to walk out the door jazzed to explore the possibilities of including social media marketing.

I reached out to Adam & Wendy Leidhecker, owners of the eCommerce sitePaw Luxury, who I "found" in my Twitter Travels. In addition to tweeting, the Leidheckler are active in several other social networks.

Paw Luxury is a niche player (eco dog products) in a very fragmented and crowded space (pet products). I was curious to hear their story and some of their lessons learned that I could pass along. Adam and Wendy, with help from Lola, kindly answered a few questions and also gave me their point of view about how to best use Twitter. Thanks Adam, Wendy and Lola for agreeing to let me post our interview on Diva Marketing.

Toby/Diva Marketing: Please tell me a little about your online business at Paw Luxury and the people, and of
course Lola, behind it.

Paw Luxury: Paw Luxury specializes in selling earth friendly
products. We offer quality products that are stylish, durable, all natural,
organic, holistic, sustainable, biodegradable, fair trade, and Made in the
USA. Our motto is "healthy dog, healthy earth, and happier life".
We feature all of these eco-friendly in convenient easy to
shop destination on our website.

Paw Luxury: We did social networking first then our community of friends
wanted to stay in touch more and thats where blogging came in.

Toby/Diva Marketing: Why participate in so many social networks?

Paw Luxury:It allows you to connect with
people of the same interest, meet people with differentinterest, engage in
interesting conversation as well as being a great networking tool. People
love to feel like they're part of something, a community and family and that is
what social networks do. Our community and animal lovers are members of different networks
not just one or all.

Toby/Diva Marketing: Which one do you feel you are getting the most
bark for you time? (ouch! did I really say that?) Why?

Paw Luxury:Twitter has been a great tool. The connections we
made on Twitter are irreplaceable and people get to know us on an even
more personal level. Even Lola the eco dog has her Twitter account and she gets to bark with her pup pals.

Toby/Diva Marketing: If you would drop one which would it be and way?

Paw Luxury:At this point we have so
many unique friends at all of our social networks that we could not
discontinue using any of them. Because each social networking is unique and
has different feature and meets different needs.

Toby/Diva Marketing: Everyone always
wants to know about the time. How much time do you average in say a week
posting, reading, etc blogs, communities, tweets?

Paw Luxury:In the beginning while we
were in the building stages of setting up the communities we would sometimes
spend full days over weeks. Now that our networks are fairly established we
are on everyday, because when you join a social community people love
hearing from you and want to be a part of your lives. Now that's
amazing!

Paw Luxury:
Its fun to hear what people are doing at that very moment and we
enjoy getting updates from our followers and people we are following.
Also, we are able to get instant feedback and ask question and the
community is always their a second click of the mouse to help. As business
we wanted to always be transparent.

Twitter is great for getting
news briefing, friend sourcing when you are looking for
services, micro-attention sharing to let people know about your latest blog
post or something funny and entertaining you found on the web. But
also serves as a great way to spread the word about a good cause, for
us saving the planet.

Toby/Diva Marketing: I've noticed that there are quite a few
"pet tweeters." Is there a pet tweet community?

Paw Luxury: Yes, many pet lovers, owners
and even their pets have their own twitter account.

Toby/Diva Marketing: How do you
find new followers?

Paw Luxury:Now that we have a presence many find us. However, we do
search a website called tweetscan.com for people talking about their dog. We
like to find people that need pet advice from stinky dog to itchy dog or just
someone to talk to. Also many of the blogs that we read and get in our Google
reader those individuals have tweet accounts and we add them. Then it becomes
a ripple effect and people start spreading the word about you.

Toby/Diva Marketing: What advice would you give to a small business owner, be it in the pet
industry or not, for why she/he should embrace social media?

Paw Luxury:Its an excellent
way to connect personally and directly with your demographic. Especially if
you are internet business and your customers are online.

Toby/Diva Marketing: Where
would you suggest a newbie start?

Paw Luxury:We would suggest you start slow and get to
know the ends and outs of the social network youare working on. Whatever
social network you are using look for people you know first or share similar
interest and start genuine conversation.

When starting out using Twitter it
is not advisable to follower 10,000 people just because you want them to
follow you back. Because most likely they will think you are a spammer. If
you can connect on a real level with one to five people a day who will
follow, it may take a long time to build up your community, but in the
long run you will have longer lasting valuable friends.

Because we
believe that it is not about the quantity but about the quality
of relationships being built, this has paid off for us.

More About Eco Friendly Paw Luxury and Lola!

What was our
inspiration?Evolving from the overwhelming love of our beautiful, loyal,
carefree, lovable and cuddly boxer named Lola, Paw Luxury was born. As
proud parents we wanted to give Lola the best nature had to offer but
found it difficult to find eco-friendly products under one roof. So we
wentsniffing with Lola, searched high and low and dug a few holes
along the way. Then we thought to ourselves why not create a one-stop
online destination that caters to the need for healthy alternatives.
Nowthese eco-friendly pet products are accessible and can be puchased
at www.pawlux.com.

We wanted to
remain true to the motto "healthy dog, healthy earth, happier life." This
idea, now a reality, was to sell products that both us and Lola have come to
love; products inspired by nature with the everyday dog in mind. But we
didn't want to stop there, we wanted to strive to offer products sourced and
manufactured primarily in the USA, while treading lightly and making a
contribution to better the world and the people in it.

What is in a
name? Our name, Paw Luxury, is inspired by the commonality that pets
and humans in a sense both have paws that need love to. We define
"luxury" as your dog living the good life, it's all about wellness with
some pampering thrown in. We believe you can fuse green living with
the cachet and comforts of luxury living-for a healthier life now and
for future generations.